Mainspring-winder



(No Model.)

' A. F. ROBBINS.

MAINSPRING WINDBR.

No. 394,507. Patented Dec. 11, 1888.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT F. ROBBINS, OF ORANGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MAINSPRING-WINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,507, da ed D ember 11, 1888.

Application filed February 9, 1888. Serial No. 263,510. (No model.)

To all whom it 72mg concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. RoBBINs, of Orange, in the county of Franklin, State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improwements in Implements for \Yind ing Mainsprings of Vatch and other Movements, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention pertains to that class of implements for winding mainsprings of watch and other movements in which the implement is adapted not only for the winding of the springs, but after winding them for the then convenient and ready placing of them in the barrels or casings of the movement which are to receive them in position and ready for practical use.

The invention particularly relates to those winders in which the mainspring is wound upon a rotating spindle with which its inner end has been first engaged, and within a surrounding barrel or ring over which, having first placed the barrel or casing of the watch or other movement which is to receive and contain the spring, the so-wound spring is then forced from the barrel or ring within which it was wound, as stated, and entered into said movement barrel or casing, first having engaged its outer end therewith.

Illustrations of mainspring-winders of the class referred to are to be found in Letters Patent of the United States Nos. 308,096 and 325,973, issued to myself, dated, respectively, November 18, 188i, and September 8,1885; No. 333,251, issued to Henry H. Pulver, dated December 29, 1885, and No. 335,023, issued to Orrin Dow, dated January 2c, 1886, to which reference is hereby had fora more particular explanation thereof.

The improved mainspring-winding imple ment of this invention consists, essentially, of a barrel, ring, or rim, or other equivalent device for the winding of the mainspring therein, a reciprocating slide within and engaging said barrel for forcing the spring wound in it out of it and into the barrel (to receive and contain it) of the watch or other movement, and a spindle for the winding of the spring, and which is distinct and separate from said barrel within which the spring is to be wound, and which is inserted concentrically within a bearingsleeve of said spring discharging slide from and at the open and discharging end of said barrel and arranged to be rotated therein and at its portion then within said barrel constructed for the inner end of the spring to be engaged with it. Again, the said Inainspring-winding spindle is arranged for longitudinal adjustment through a surrounding collar, and it is free to be rotated and is of different diameters, all so that said arbor, suitably adjusted in its said collar, can

be presented within the barrel in which a mainspring is to be wound by it at the portion thereof most proper for the mainspring to be woundthat is, at its portion of greater or less diameter. Again, under this invention the barrel of the implement, and within which the mainspring is to be wound, as also the reciprocating slide for the discharge from it of the spring wound in it, are of novel construction and arrangement, all substantially as hereinafter described, whereby the same can be held in one hand while the operator with the other hand is winding the spring in said barrel.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure l is a side view of the present improved n1ainspring-winding implement with its barrel within which the springs are to be wound and its rotatory spindle separated from each other. Fig. 2 is in part a central longitudinal section and in part a side view of the barrel and rotatory spindle placed together and in operative position for the wind- 8 5 ing ofa spring. Fig. 3 is an end view of Fig.

2. Fig. l is a cross-section, line I I, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view in detail, illustrating a modified arrangement for a longitudinal adjustment of the windingspindle in its collar by the turning of a screwnut, as will hereinafter appear. Fig. 6 is a cross-section, line 6 6, Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a face view of the barrel of a watch-movement to receive and contain said mainspring when 5 wound. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a mainspring unwound. Fig. 9 is a perspective view in detail at the open end of the springreceiving barrel of the winding implement.

In the drawings, A is abarrel or ring within which a mainspring is to be wound. B is a reciprocatingslide of said barrel for discharging from it the spring wound in it, and C is a rotatory spindle for winding the spring. The

b. rrel or ring A has an open and spring-disfrom the outer end of said bore and to extend through it and the length of the tube II in continuation of the handle I and into and practically through the length of a sleeve, L, of the slide and loosely fitting the axial bore thereof. The sleeve L at its inner end hasa shoulder, a, and at its outer end it carries the spring-discharging slide B, as before stated, and this slide, in substance, and as particularly'shown, is a disk loosely fitting the barrel A, and at one part of its edge provided with a radially-projecting nib or lug, Z), engaging a 'corresponding-shaped and radiallylocated notch, d, in the barrel. The spindle K, beforereferred to, is free to turn and to slide in the axial bores of handle I and barrel-sleeve L, and within the handle-tube H it has a collar, M, secured by a setscrew to it, so as to be adjusted thereon, and. which, on pushing the spindle into the handle, abuts against the sleeve L, carrying the spring-discharging slide B, as aforesaid, and thus secures the movement of said slide therewith in a direction toward the open and discharging end D of the barrel A, the shoulder a of said sleeve by itsabutment against the inner end of the collar F of the barrel making the limit of such movement.

The return movement of the spindle K is limited by the abutment of its collar M against the inner end of the handle or knob I, and which is within the tube H. The rotating spindle C, for winding the mainsprin g, and as particularly shown, is carried by a collar, N, in which it is longitudinally adjustable, and from which at one end it proj ects, and this projecting portion P is inserted and arranged to turn within the tubular end Q of the sliding spindle K of the barrel, and so inserted the collar N comes to a seat or rest against the open or spring-discharging end D of the barrel A, Fig. 2. This winding-spindle 0, when engaged with the-sliding spindle K, as above stated, at its portion P, then within. the barrel, has a radial pin or spur, g, for the engagement of the inner end of the mainspring that is to be wound, and two of such spurs are shown, each at different parts in the length of the arbor-spindle, and these parts are of different diameters, and by longitudinally sliding the winding-arbor through its said collar either of said parts can be placed within the barrel A in suitable operative position.

As shown, Figs. 2 and 4, the winding-spindle O has a diametrical slot, h, and the collar N of the arbor has a diametrical pin, is, passing through said slot, and thus the winding arbor is made adjustable lengthwise in the.

collar, limited in its said adjustment in one direction by the length of said slot and in the other direction by a collar at the outer end of the arbor, and these are in such relation that in the slide of the winding-arbor in one direction to insure the proper presentation of either of the respective pins or spurs g, as may be most proper and desirable for the mainspring to be wound by the use of the implement, the mainspring-winding arbor, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and its collar turn as one, and S is a crank-handle for convenience in so turning them.

As shown, Fig. 5, the mainspring-winding spindle 0 turns within a milled-edge screwnut, T, free to turn, but confined against lengthwise movement thereon, and which screws into a female-screw-threaded bore of the collar N, and the crank-handle S is fastened to the spindle O. In this construction,

by turning the screw-nut in either direction,

the spindle C is longitudinally moved in and through the collar, and its winding portions thus adjusted as desired.

W ith the mainspring to be wound engaged at its inner end with the proper spur, g, of the rotating winding-spindle O, and this spindle inserted into the tubular end of the slidwound thereon and within the barrel. hen.

the spring is fully Wound, the winding-spindle is detached and the barrel U of the watchmovement is then placed over the barrel A, containing the so-wound spring, and the outer end of the wound spring is then engaged with it at the hole Z, as well known, preparatory to the then entering of the spring into said movement-barrel, which is accomplished by forcing the sliding spindle K forward, that through its disk pushes the wound spring out of the barrel in which it was wound and enters it into the movementbarrel, completing the operation. In the use of the implement as described the casing or sleeve H and handle I are held in one hand of the operator, and the spindle C turned by the other hand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an implement for winding mainsprings, composed of a barrel or ring, A, within which the spring is to be wound, a sliding device, B, to discharge the wound spring from, and which engages said barrel,

in combination with a rotatory spindle, O,-

turning in said sliding device and having portions of different diameters, and each portion adapted to have the inner end of the mainspring engaged with it, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

2. In an implement for winding mainsprings, composed of a barrel or ring, A, within which the spring is to be wound, a

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sliding device, B, operated by a spindle or rod, K, to discharge the Wound spring from, and which engages said barrel, and a tube or sleeve, H, and its handle extension 1, containing said sliding spindle K, in combination with a rotatory spindle, C, turning in said sliding device and adapted to have the inner end of the spring engaged with it, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. In an implement for Winding mainsprings, composed of a barrel or ring, A, within which the mainspring is to be wound, a sliding device, B, to discharge the wound spring from, and which engages said barrel, 

